Bill Nichols’ Prescription:
Comics 10ccs of the Process with
Kurtis Fujita

Kurtis is the  Creative Director at Silverline and a comic book writer/artist. He is also a Martial Arts Instructor, and his upcoming comic book is called Shadow Ghost: The Kung Fu Comic by a Kung Fu Master. 

What inspires you to create and keeps you going?

For me it is my love for the comic book art form and my love of Martial Arts. I’m combining both passions in my upcoming comic book “Shadow Ghost: The Kung Fu Comic by a Kung Fu Master”

Do you have a set routine?

Yes, I set aside days and times which are solely for creating comics. I turn my phone off and completely immerse myself in the process. 

What kind of output do you try to achieve?

As I handle all the duties on my book from writing, penciling, inking, coloring, and lettering, I focus less on actual set pages produced, but more on streamlining the production process more and more. I find this consistently improves my output.

What inspires you WHEN you create? Music? Noise? Silence?

When writing, it’s instrumental music. When doing any art related tasks it’s music or streaming a TV show in the background.

Who was the first comic book creator that influenced you to pursue this?

Chris Claremont and Paul Smith via their collaboration on X-Men.

When did you realize you could follow this path yourself?

At age 14, I got my first comic book job as an intern at Malibu Comics. So it was at that point I learned about the different career paths and the creative process of creating comic books.

What do you find to be a challenge in creating?

Time. With ample time, so much can be accomplished. However carving out time each day while having day job and being a Martial Arts Instructor is a big challenge.

What else do you have to learn?

I have a lot to learn about everything. There is no set point where you arrive at the mastery of any art form and comic books are no exception. 

What keeps you motivated to get better?

My desire to effectively communicate my ideas, stories,and sentiments via the comic book medium.

Can you turn your brain (creativity) off (and on)?

Nope. Even if I could, would I want to? No way.

Booster Shots

What advice do you have for aspiring creators?

We have a saying in Kung Fu. “You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet”. This means you have to be willing to go through difficult times to achieve success.  Anybody can handle the joy of success. However what many don’t want is to go through the difficulty and pain of acquiring the skills to achieve your goals.

Even once you have achieved success, you have to work just as hard if not harder, to maintain it. There is no finish line.

Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?

Not really. There is so much inspiration in life and so there is always a well to draw from.

How do you handle the slow times?

I try to remind myself that the slow times define who I am and are an opportunity to get ready for the next endeavor.

How do you feel about the industry?

I love comic books as an art form and respect the industry as a business. So many creatives only want to do the creative work and not the business side of things. They are surprised sometimes that things aren’t fair or to their liking. I think if you are to do comic books as a business then you need to take some form of interest in the business. If you don’t care about the business side of things, the business side of things won’t care about you.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed by the above creator are theirs. This interview may not 

be reprinted or reposted without permission.